Can a Foam Pad Help You Increase Your Vertical? (Weird Trick)

Yeah, it’s true. Using a simple foam pad, or a pile of mats, with this weird trick, can help you increase your vertical. How?

I’m going to show you below.

But, before I go into that, I want to share a quick jumping lesson.

The Three Phases of a Vertical Jump

The three phases are the absorption (eccentric) phase, the transition (isometric) phase, and the production (concentric) phase.

During that absorption phase, we’re absorbing and storing potential energy as we lower ourselves into the bottom position of our jump.

In the transition phase, you’re turning that potential energy into kinetic energy.

And in the production phase, you’re harnessing that kinetic energy and utilizing it to propel you off the ground.

With me still?

One of the neuromuscular mechanisms that plays a role in these three phases is the stretch-shortening cycle.

The stretch-shortening cycle is basically your body’s ability to put a muscle on stretch (which you do when you lower yourself towards the ground in a jump), and quickly shorten or contract that muscle.

In this way, you can think of your muscle like a rubber band. You pull back the rubber band (stretch), and let it go, producing force.

So, if you create a more efficient stretch-shortening cycle, you’ll increase your vertical.

Now, onto the foam pad trick…

Two Foam Pad Tricks

Yes, it was originally going to be one trick, but I’m going to throw in a bonus trick…

Here’s the first one:

In the last section, I was talking about the three phases of the vertical jump, and the stretch-shortening cycle. Well, one of the keys to the stretch shortening cycle is theย transition phase.

Again, the transition phase is the transition of energy from potential to kinetic.

The more efficient this phase is, the higher you’ll jump because less energy is leaking out.

This is where the foam pad comes in.

All you’re going to do, is perform a series of jumps on the foam pad, or pile of mats.

When you attempt a jump on the foam pad, it absorbs a lot of the force that your body usually absorbs, creating less potential energy for you to harness in your vertical jump.

Doing foam pad jumps, then, allows you to become more efficient in your transition phase, spending less time transitioning from absorption to production, and losing less energy in the process.

The Second Trick

A lot of guys come to me telling me that they feel like they weigh 300 pounds when they jump off of one leg. One of the reasons for this is their stability, or lack of.

What you can do to fix this is perform single leg movements on the foam pad at the end of your workout to create some structure and stability in that leg.

For specific exercises, check out this post.

Increase Your Vertical By Working All Three Phases

While the transition phase is important in the vertical jump, you need to work on all three phases to become a truly elite jumper.

When you take this approach, you also work on the effectiveness of neuromuscular mechanisms responsible for your vertical jump.

Not only are you strengthening and putting more power in your muscles,

But, you’re improving the MECHANISMS behind the jump…

Something most other coaches don’t do.

You can learn how to do this for FREE in my Advanced Vertical Series.

To join in, click the link below, and you’ll discover the secrets I learned on my journey to a 44″ vertical jump:

Click here to Join the FREE Advanced Vertical Series

 


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